Bill Amend is at it again with his Fox Trot comic strip.  Today's strip explains the real reason so many children are begging for a Microsoft Xbox 360.  Ten-year-old Jason Fox figures that even though he doesn't really want one, by asking for the Xbox 360 his parents won't be able to find one, so they'll shower him with plenty of other gifts in order to ease his "pain".

The hell of it is that he's probably right.  The last time I was in Best Buy I overheard a conversation between a middle-age woman and a salesclerk.  She asked for the Xbox 360 to give to her young son for Christmas and was told the store was sold out, but the clerk talked her into buying the original Xbox instead.  She then asked for "the popular games" and walked away happy with a stack of what had to be eight or so games chosen by the salesclerk.  Jason Fox is right.  Playing parents is almost too easy.